Gordhan sceptical about new Sars probe

JOHANNESBURG – The inquiry into tax collection and governance at the South African Revenue Service (Sars) risked obfuscating rather than resolve problems, former finance minister Pravin Gordhan said on Tuesday.

The hearing was announced by Gordhan’s successor Malusi Gigaba.

“It could be a case of delaying dealing with the issue and obfuscating it. I think you just need to replace a few people and confidence will be restored,” the former finance minister said on the sidelines of the parliamentary probe into Eskom.

Gordhan went on to add that he included Sars commissioner Tom Moyane in the list of those who should go.

“He is not a fit and proper person to head a revenue administration,” he said.

“We expect this inquiry to be constructive and to strengthen the institution further where possible. It is critical for government to determine the cause of the tax revenue under-collection in order to enable government to take urgent remedial steps to ensure that Sars is able to meet its revenue targets as set out in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) and budget,” Gigaba said.

The MTBPS projected a tax revenue shortfall of R50 billion in the current financial year.

“The MTBPS recognised that whilst the economic cycle is the most likely and significant factor driving lower revenue-collection, other factors could also be at play, like weakening tax morality and challenges facing tax administration.”

Claims that the unit operated outside the law formed the basis of a long-running criminal investigation against Gordhan, which he dismissed as “political mischief”. Charges were brought against Gordhan late last year but soon withdrawn.

KMPG has apologised to Gordhan. But Moyane has contradicted the auditing firm on its own report, saying it was sound and echoed the findings of other investigations into the intelligence unit.